Arraignment of DUI homicides suspect on Thursday (UPDATE)

On Wednesday, April 10, Judy and Dennis Schulte’s memorial services will be held in Russiaville, Indiana at 7 PM EDT, in the gymnasium at Western High School.

On Thursday, April 11, Mark W. Mullan will be arraigned on two charges of vehicular homicide and two charges of vehicular assault in Seattle, Washington at 8:30 AM PDT, in Courtroom 1201 at the King County Courthouse.

What follows are the details of the Monday, March 25 multi casualty incident at 33rd Avenue NE and NE 75th Street taken from the Seattle Police Department’s case investigation report.

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Northeast Seattle resident Mark Mullan, 50, was driving his black 2012 Chevy Silverado pickup westbound on NE 75th Street just after 4 PM on Monday, March 25, when the vehicle struck four pedestrians crossing 75th at 33rd Avenue NE.

Just prior to that time, Judy and Dennis Schulte (68- and 66-years-old, respectively) were crossing NE 75th Street at 33rd Avenue NE northbound with their 33-year-old daughter-in-law, Karina Ulriksen-Schulte, and their 10-day-old grandson, Elias. Ms. Ulriksen Schulte was carrying her newborn son in a sling-style carrier across her body.

Witnesses accounts suggest that Ms. Ulriksen-Schulte was crossing 75th just ahead of Mr. and Mrs. Schulte, but reversed her course in the roadway as she noticed Mr. Mullan’s vehicle approaching.

Approximately 12 feet from the north side of the intersection, the right front corner of Mr. Mullan’s vehicle struck all four pedestrians.

Mrs. Schulte was thrown some 70 feet from the area of impact. She and her husband died of their injuries at the scene.

Ms. Ulriksen-Schulte and her infant sustained life-threatening injuries and are still in intensive care at Harborview Medical Center.

Mr. Mullan brought his vehicle to a stop an estimated 150 feet west of the collision site.

During questioning by officers, Mr. Mullan claimed that he did not see the family crossing NE 75th Street in front of this vehicle because of the sun. He also said that he did not attempt to stop his vehicle until after he “felt the bump.”

Preliminary analysis of sun angle positions (from the horizon and Mr. Mullan’s heading) are listed in the case report, as well as a initial speed calculation of Mr. Mullan’s vehicle of within 10 MPH of the posted speed limit of 30 MPH.

Mr. Mullan admitted to officers at the scene that he had consumed alcohol prior to the incident. A responding DUI/DRE (Drug Recognition Expert) officer witnessed several signs of impairment, including intoxicants on his breath and bloodshot, watery eyes. Furthermore, upon testing Mr. Mullan with several standard field sobriety tests, the DUI-DRE officer described Mr. Mullan’s impairment as “obvious.” A breath test at the scene indicated a breath alcohol level of 0.22.

As a condition of his guilty plea for a December 2012 DUI incident, Mr. Mullan was ordered to install an ignition interlock device on his vehicle (the same black 2012 Chevy Silverado pickup). No such device was found in his vehicle at the scene on March 25.

Mark Mullan was arrested without incident and booked into King County Jail. His bail is set at $2.5 million.

We will update this post on Thursday morning as Mullan enters his pleas to the charges of two counts vehicular homicide, two counts vehicular assault, and one count reckless driving.

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Mark Mullan (left), Mullan’s defense attorney Jesse Debow (right), and Superior Court Criminal Judge Ronald Kessler (center), at Mullan’s arraignment hearing on Thursday, April 11. Mullan pleaded not guilty to all counts. Ken Lambert/The Seattle Times

UPDATE (8:58 AM): Mark W. Mullan has pleaded NOT GUILTY to all counts.

The next step for prosecution and defense is the case setting, which is scheduled for May 23.

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More on this story on Ravenna Blog:

Memorial service in Indiana for Judy and Dennis Schulte (last updated on Thursday, April 11)

Timeout to say THANK YOU, on behalf of the Schulte family (last updated on Sunday, April 7)

Hundreds walk to remember, honor the Schulte family (PHOTOS) (last updated on Monday, April 1)

Prayer Vigil for mother and child this Thursday night (PHOTOS) (last updated on Friday, March 29)

Memorial to the family at NE 75th St grows (PHOTOS) (last updated on Sunday, March 31)

Memorial and medical funds set up for victims of Monday’s traffic tragedy (last updated on Thursday, March 28)

Suspect in Monday’s traffic fatalities no stranger to DUIs (last updated on Sunday, March 31)

Multiple casualty incident on NE 75th St near Eckstein Middle School (PHOTOS) (last updated on Wednesday, March 27)